Glass deemed safest material as NGO calls for single-use alternatives

Glass is well regarded for its safe and circular qualities, yet the material is often “punished” for its heavy weight, says Zero Waste Europe. Moreover, the environmental NGO argues that moving away from packaging that can contain harmful chemicals, like PFAS, should not only rely on replacing one material with another. 

Packaging Insights speaks to Dorota Napierska, toxic-free circular-economy policy officer at Zero Waste Europe, about glass as a safer alternative to single-use plastic packaging — which can often contain chemicals harmful to human health and the environment. 

“A packaging material that is considered to be among the safest today is glass. If applied in reusable/refillable products, glass means safe and recyclable packaging — a true circular, sustainable packaging product,” says Napierska.

“‘Punishing’ and discarding glass solely because of its weight, while ignoring obvious benefits coming from minimized migration of hazardous chemicals toward better protection of public health, doesn’t really make sense in the long-term.”

A recent report by Zero Waste Europe called on the EU’s upcoming Circular Economy Act to regulate and track toxic chemicals in packaging. These chemicals can be harmful to human health. 

Moving away from single-use packaging

Napierska says there are multiple opportunities for businesses to adopt circular-economy practices by using non-toxic, reusable packaging materials. 

“From a food packaging categories perspective, the clear limitations and negative impacts of single-use packaging have become much more visible in recent years, despite some stakeholders denying it,” she says. 

The success of reuse systems often depends on decontamination efficiency and consumer adoption.One study claims that over 3,600 synthetic chemicals from food-contact materials are present in human bodies, 80 of which have properties of great concern.

The first step for businesses to move away from toxic packaging, says Napierska, is to remove problematic and unnecessary single-use items, but not solely replace one material with another. She notes the “paperization” trend as a recent example, which she argues created “a lot of problems.” 

Governments worldwide are increasingly regulating single-use plastic packaging to reduce pollution. In February, the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal upheld the government’s order to list plastic-manufactured items as “toxic” under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. 

Reuse challenges

However, Napierska acknowledges that some foods still require disposable packaging, and the success of reuse systems often depends on external factors, such as hygiene systems and consumer adoption.

In a recent interview, Nicklas Lauwell, chief officer for Food Packaging Solutions at Duni Group, told us that one of the biggest hurdles for reuse systems is convenience. 

Napierska explains that “we want to avoid over-generalization, while also showing that a real transition is possible and delivering jobs.” According to the Zero Waste Europe policy officer, reuse systems are expected to create 468,000 net full-time jobs by 2030.

A previous report by Zero Waste Europe highlighted the success of reuse systems at the local level but noted that cities lack accessible financing and tend to view reuse as an option rather than the norm. 

Addressing decontamination

Another industry concern with reusable and glass packaging, as an alternative to single-use packaging, is the energy intensity of current decontamination technologies. 

Napierska adds: “While we recognize a need for innovation and technological advances in the treatment of waste, including decontamination of certain waste streams, our main argument is still that the most significant changes to avoiding harmful chemicals and contaminants should happen at the stage of design and manufacturing.” 

Last year, Ravyn Williams, founder of Taki2Go, told Packaging Insights that inadequate collection and washing systems are among the reasons most reuse systems fail. 

Moreover, she notes that, as packaging has such high volumes of waste, minimizing the need for decontamination in the first place “makes the most sense in terms of avoiding shifting recovery and recycling processes toward higher carbon emissions.”